Meta and TikTok let harmful content rise after evidence outrage drove engagement - whistleblowers Companies allowed more harmful content on user’s feeds, knowing their algorithms ran on outrage, BBC hears.

Meta and TikTok let harmful content rise after evidence outrage drove engagement, say whistleblowers.

Fascinating deep dive 👇
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Response to Meta's Non-Consensual AI Sexualized Impersonation Under Oversight Board Review — Integrity Institute By Theodora Skeadas, Sarah Amos, Leah Ferentinos, Gabe Freeman, Rupi Sureshkumar, Sofia Bonilla, Matt Motyl, Aniket Ajagaonkar, and April Lat Integrity Institute members weigh in on the Oversight Bo...

Members submitted input to the
@oversightboard.bsky.social on Meta’s non-consensual AI sexualized impersonation.

AI-generated imagery is among the most harmful forms of digital abuse. Meta needs stronger enforcement pathways & better remediation for victims.

▶️ Read our analysis: bit.ly/4uBjjSH

Meta and TikTok let harmful content rise after evidence outrage drove engagement - whistleblowers Companies allowed more harmful content on user’s feeds, knowing their algorithms ran on outrage, BBC hears.

If you read one thing about the internet today please make this is.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Platform Datasets: Challenges, Insights, and Examples for Researchers under Article 40 of the DSA

❓What #data do #VLOPSEs collect? How are they structured + used? How can #researchers best utilize #dataaccess under Art. 40 of the #DSA?

👉 Our new report by @jeffallen.bsky.social @mattmotyl.bsky.social + S. Gurley provides valuable answers for academic + civil society researchers: loom.ly/gQa-FjQ

This is the preset I never knew I needed. I *think* it actually fits in a video I am working on right now, too. Thank you!

You are a must-follow (/subscribe) for all Davinci Resolve editors. Your videos and macros have been incredibly helpful in my first two months learning DVR. Much gratitude to you for your great guides and macros.

Want to hear about how to build better feeds? Join @mattmotyl.bsky.social and I at 11:00 ET today!

Want to know how we can make social media a better place with fewer annoying and/or harmful content? Check out this brand new report I had the honor of co-authoring with a bunch of fellow experts on social media recommendation systems at the Knight-Georgetown Institute!

How Tech Companies are Deceiving Us About Their Layoffs YouTube video by Unmoderated Insights

Following the latest wave of tech layoffs in recent weeks, more employees have shared their exceptional performance evaluations conducted in the weeks prior to being laid off on the alleged basis of poor performance. I share more on this in my latest YouTube video. youtu.be/iJPBsL4w-U0?...

mRNA vaccines show promise against pancreatic cancer in early trial Fewer than 13% of people live more than five years after diagnosis. In a small trial, half of the participants mounted a lasting immune response against their cancer cells.

It was a small trial, but a new vaccine against pancreatic cancer shows promise. Now would be a good time to increase funding for cancer research instead of the opposite! www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...

The tech layoffs continue, and the companies are trying to present them as performance-based. There's just one problem: they're not actually performance-based.

I wrote a piece summarizing some of the data on this and telling my story from back in 2022.
open.substack.com/pub/mattmoty...

Industry Leading Expert's Top Tips on Making Social Media Safer for Young People YouTube video by Unmoderated Insights

I interviewed the former head of youth safety at Meta, Twitter, and Google, @vaishnavi.bsky.social , on how to best promote online safety for youth. If you're curious, our conversation is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6096...

We could make it a trifecta by raising tariffs by 97% on DeepSeek (it charges 3% what OpenAI charges per token) and further handicap ourselves by not only cutting down the number of scientists we train, but also reducing the resources they have for doing science.

AI's surprising insights into human morality YouTube video by Unmoderated Insights

I interviewed @kurtjgray.bsky.social on some of his fascinating research on using AI to understand morality and to moderate generative AI tool output. Oh, and surveying dead people, having sex with robots, and a bit on his latest popular book on outrage in politics www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhBr...

Social media is getting worse, but it is useful to activists (ft. @UnmoderatedInsights ) YouTube video by Political Psych with Abby

One of my friends runs a political psychology YouTube channel and invited me to come on to discuss the role of social media in activism, and whether it amounts to more the slacktivism. Check it out here: youtu.be/y-3ErmkatX8?...

Debunking Social Media Myths: A Deep Dive with Dr. Christopher Ferguson YouTube video by Unmoderated Insights

I interviewed clinical psychologist and professor Christopher Ferguson about his research on how social media affects the well-being and mental health of teenagers. I finally found time to edit out some of our particularly bad jokes to spare you all; see the good stuff here: youtu.be/_koKKVAF5_Q

Georgia secretary of state blames polling place bomb threat on Russians The bomb threat was one of several attacks in the key swing state of Georgia blamed on Russians.

Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger is reporting Russian actors made bomb threats at some polling locations. Investigation says threats non-credible. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Get out and vote, folks.

Some of my election & civic integrity tech, political science, and social psych friends and I will be livestreaming our own election and social media monitoring war room analogous to the war rooms we worked on at some of the world's biggest tech companies. Starts at 3p PT youtube.com/live/64dQ1er...

My Super Bowl has arrived. Will there be more or fewer tackles and fumbles today than during that other Super Bowl -- the one with lots of guys wearing tight pants and chasing after a misshapen ball?

In part two of our series, Dr. @mattmotyl.bsky.social and I explore practical steps to address the challenges of social media’s impact on mental health. If you care about #digitalwellbeing, join the conversation and help support teens online!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGHa...

The Surprising Effects of Social Media on Mental Health and Teens with Professor Andrew Przybylski YouTube video by Unmoderated Insights

Curious about how social media impacts mental health? Dr. @mattmotyl.bsky.social and I dive into the research and noise in part 1 of our series. Join us unpacking this critical and misunderstood topic for those in the #digitalwellbeing space.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=klas...

Interesting! Simon, this is the first I've seen of this archive, and it seems like it could be tremendously useful for this social media detoxifier app that one of the non-profits (Civic Health Project) I advise is developing. I'll DM you.

Thanks, Rebekah. It was wild, in all of the worst ways. Thankfully, it's long in the past. :-)

This is an excellent resource. After some of my vaccine hesitancy work leaked, I had to have a security detail for about a month.

Oh, why must you tease me, sir!

Understanding the Alarming Rise of Political Violence YouTube video by Unmoderated Insights

After the second assassination attempt on Trump along with stories of people like @noupside.bsky.social being targeted by ideological extremists, I put together this brief video on political polarization, social media, and the rising acceptability of political violence. youtu.be/REpGv3POEwo?...

This looks fun. Any way I could see the preprint?

Thank you!

Oh! Thanks for putting this together. Can you add me?

The Surprising Truth About AI's Impact on Elections YouTube video by Unmoderated Insights

Is generative AI really hijacking democracy? In this video, I review the sensational fears some have expressed about the impact of GenAI on elections, and examine the role its played in the 50+ elections that have already happened in 2024. youtu.be/3IW4qBmj7g0